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David Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor, playwright and poet. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows (a role he played from 1968 to its ending in 1971), and as the evil and compassionate estranged son of Angela Channing (played by Jane Wyman), Richard Channing, on the prime-time CBS soap opera Falcon Crest (a role he played from 1982 to 1990).

Selby's movie credits include co-starring roles with Barbra Streisand in Up the Sandbox (1972) and with Ron Leibman in The Super Cops (1974), White Squall, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Raise the Titanic, and Surviving Christmas (2004). In 2010, he appeared in The Social Network as the attorney representing the Winklevoss brothers. He has recently reprised the role of Quentin Collins for a new series of Dark Shadows audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. On the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Selby appeared on stage with President Barack Obama and portrayed Lincoln in a scene from the play The Heavens Are Hung in Black at the historic reopening of Ford's Theatre.

His writing includes the plays Lincoln and James and Final Assault as well as the poetry collections My Mother's Autumn and Happenstance. His novels are Lincoln's Better Angel and The Blue Door. A Better Place combines memoir and social commentary to discuss Selby's West Virginia upbringing. In 2010, Selby published My Shadowed Past, chronicling what it was like to work on Dark Shadows during the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s.

This 1969 DS collectors card set had 66 cards and was released in 1969. The backs of the cards are puzzle pieces. Dark Shadows still enjoys a large fanbase; between them and regular vintage trading-card collectors, these card series are expensive and difficult to complete.

Hi David.Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed for my website. I'm a long time fan of your work, especially your work on the cult hit TV series Dark Shadows. I, like thousands of others of my generation that watched the original series, have the same memories of rushing home from school to catch the 4 o'clock airing of the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. There was nothing else like it on TV, with it's witches, warlocks, vampires, ghosts and werewolves. It had amazing plot twists and turns and a storyline that was nearly impossible to comprehend dating back from the 1960's to centuries before. Dark Shadows put the fictional town of Collinsport, Maine on the map for the ages and I expect Maine has seen nothing quite like it before or since. Oh yeah...there is that one guy from Maine...a writer and movie making machine, I think his name is King.. Between Dark Shadows and Stephen King, I think Maine has done pretty good for itself theatrically, at least for fans of the horror genre.

Before we get started I just want to say how sorry I am at the loss of your acting friend from Dark Shadows, Jonathan Frid. We will all miss Barnabas Collins and hope he is in another realm doing his thing as we speak. I read your touching letter about your last meeting with him, holding his hand to help him off the curb and your sentiment about him leaving on a long journey.My deepest sympathies to you and all the cast-mates from the show.

So let us get "goth" and revisit Collinsport, Collinwood and The Blue Whale. When were you introduced to director Dan Curtis and how did the part of Quentin Collins end up being played by you?After I did a scene in his office he asked me to come to the studio. He looked at me on camera. Next thing I knew, I had the job.

What was it like working with the other cast members? Any standout friendships and did you help develop the character of Quentin?All the actors were from the New York stage, and were good...well trained. I have remained friends with many of them. Anytime an actor plays a role for a long period of time, he has influence on the character and how it will be played.

Did you enjoy the subject matter of the show, the gothic element and the setting (Blue Whale, Collinwood, Widow's Cliff etc)....or was it more just like any other acting job? For me...I was introduced into the great world of scary movies through Dark Shadows...vampires etc. I love all the old horror films and shows.I did not know anything about the show before I was cast. I love gothic stories...not all by any means.

Was filming as serious as it seemed to be or were there light-hearted and fun moments on set? Any good funny stories?There was always fun just sitting around talking before rehearsing. John Karlen (Willie Loomis) trying to break me up a couple of times while we were shooting. Having drinks at the bar up the street after a day's work. While we worked hard and were serious about the day's work, the castmembers enjoyed each other as many still do today.

Did you have any idea the show would become such a classic? Did any of the other actors have any idea?I had no idea but that makes it all the more rather wonderful. The fans took over the show.

Many people I've spoken with who watched the original series are really protective of it. What do you think of the new movie about to be released and Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's adaptation of the characters? I know a lot of us fans have some trepidation about the movie spoofing the TV show.I have not seen the film. Tim and Johnny did not approach the film lightly. None of the team did. They put a lot of thought and creative energy into the work. Wait until you see it. You will see the care that was taken with the production.

What part will you play in the new movie and who are the other originals who will make appearances?We just make appearances at the mansion....no lines. But Jonathan (Frid), Lara (Parker), Kathryn (Leigh Scott), and myself had a delightful time.

Off topic for a moment, I'd like to ask about your many portrayals of Abraham Lincoln on stage. Can you tell us a bit about those performances and how they came to be?I went to graduate school in Ill. I was tall and they needed someone to play Lincoln in a summer stock company. Later I did a TV production for ABC. Then my relationship with Ford's Theatre, where I have done two plays involving Lincoln, has been one of the most rewarding of my career.

You were a cast member of the very popular "Falcon Crest" for several years. I remember your appearance on "The Walton's" as well and also the Dark Shadows films among other projects. Do you have a favorite?No favorite....good characters - I would say Quentin Collins (Dark Shadows) and Richard Channing (Falcon Crest).

Do you keep in touch with your DS cast-mates? I like to think that everyone is friends and remain in close contact...ha....I thin that would be cool.We stay in contact and see each other always at the conventions and sometimes at other events.(Dark Shadows Festival, the official Dark Shadows Convention held annually since 1983, usually in New York or Los Angeles, features appearances by cast and crew in question and answer sessions and autograph sessions, a banquet with the stars, a memorabilia room of Dark Shadows merchandise for sale, performances by the stars and more).

What projects are you working on now aside from the part in the new Dark Shadows movie?I'm working on a new play (Divine Rivalry) at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. And a film to be shot in June.*Divine Rivalry, written by Michael Kramer with D. S. Moynihan, transports audiences to 16th-century Florence, where two of the world’s greatest artists, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, face off in a painting competition orchestrated by political mastermind Niccolò Machiavelli (The Prince).

And finally...what do you think of how vampires are portrayed in today's TV shows, novels and movies. Any thoughts on Stephen King or Anne Rice's depictions of vampires and monsters and especially the glitter, glammed up romanticized vampires of the Twilight saga.All actors, once they have the role, bring their own take to it, put their stamp on it. I must admit, I have never seen True Blood or Twilight. All such shows have fans and that is how it should be and all actors are grateful. No one more so than this actor.